“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated”

~ Thomas Paine

The bringing together of Patriots in my county has had its ups and downs. After the election in Virginia, it seemed like every citizen understood the danger to our Second Amendment rights; however, the group of concerned citizens was very diverse. There were those who were worried they wouldn’t be able to keep their hunting rifle. Others were concerned they wouldn’t be able to pass their heirloom rifles and handguns to their children. Still others thought they may not be able to protect themselves in a hostile situation. Unfortunately, very few understand the true nature of the Second Amendment and what it is for.

While there are many side benefits to having the small portion that’s left of our right to bear arms, such as being able to hunt and teach firearms skills to our posterity, the PRIMARY PURPOSE of the Second Amendment was to prevent tyranny. The Founders understood that a militia of “We the People” would be sufficient to deter any tyrant, particularly if having a standing army was unconstitutional as well. Interesting that 240 years later, we have an incredibly strong domestic standing army (think FBI, DHS, ICE, BLM, etc. ad nauseum); and, the Second Amendment has been decimated. Now, we argue and debate over slight degrees of infringement as though we still have an intact right. We beg for crumbs at our masters’ tables. The reality is that the Gun Control Act of 1934 destroyed most all of the “deterrent” effects of the Second Amendment.

When Democrats took over Virginia in November, they wasted no time coming after our guns with a fantasy-driven laundry list of controls and restrictions. We the People rose up and began pushing back. While the Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolution movement was a great initial step, the Governor reminded his subjects that there were no legal “teeth” in the resolutions. He insisted that ALL law enforcement officers would be expected to enforce the laws. If not, there would be “consequences”. State Senate Majority Leader Richard “Dick” Saslaw made sure there WERE consequences and denied money for a pay raise to County Deputies. He stated publicly that it was done in retaliation for Sheriffs pushing back against the Democrats.

We the People continued the patriotic movement by looking at re-forming long-dormant County militias, constitutional organizations which had fallen into disfavor. Militia musters began to be called in many counties. Most people in this reinvigorated militia movement believe that County Sheriffs and Boards of Supervisors were the appropriate overseers of the County militias. Boards of Supervisors were spoken to; however, many of these boards who had passed Second Amendment Resolutions hid behind their lawyers. They told citizens that they were not legally able to support the militia. One ridiculous supervisor, when asked for a comment by a local newspaper said, “I feel like a militia asking permission from the government is an oxymoron of a militia”. This, in itself, is a moronic statement. The militia is created by the Constitution and the only thing militia leaders were asking for is for the local governments to take their rightful place as overseers.

In my County, some of the leaders were terrified of being portrayed as “white supremacists”, “nazis”, “kooks”, and all other manner of bad people. They were afraid of offending the Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff. Almost all County musters have been held on public property; however, my county decided to do it on private land. Everything was all scheduled, then came COVID-19.

Bear in mind, the Governor has NO CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY to limit Free Association, Free Movement, and Free Choice-making. While I understand the need to use wisdom, the fact is, if you are scared, YOU ARE FREE TO HIDE IN YOUR HOME. We were following all CDC guidelines with our muster, which was still a go as late as Tuesday. We were going to be outside. We were not going to be shaking hands. There are NO REPORTED CASES in our County. We had a hand-washing station. BUT, the landowner spoke to his lawyer and became concerned about some kind of legal liability (don’t get me started on lawyers). The landowner pulled the plug.

The suggestion was made to move the muster to the Courthouse, as it has enough parking and is centrally located. The scared, wimpy leaders of our movement, once again, don’t want to offend the powers that be. What a pathetic statement about the condition of our patriots!

It has been clear that there are very few people who would take their oath to each other and the Constitution seriously. I thought the militia movement might be different, that there would be true American Warriors coming to the forefront. I was sadly mistaken. I will go participate in the small manner I can. I will find the individuals who are, in fact Patriots, and work with them separately. I NEED other people, but it looks like they won’t be found in my County’s militia movement. I know many leaders from other counties who are strong patriots. I pray that they stay strong when the winds start blowing. And I pray that each of you, my fellow patriots, searches deep within your soul, and finds the strength to help stop this tyranny.